Microsoft Ends Pursuit of Yahoo

Microsoft announced over the weekend it was withdrawing its bid to buy Yahoo. Microsoft had been mulling a hostile bid to acquire Yahoo after its initial offer of $31 per share was rejected by Yahoo. This effectively puts an end to the months long saga that began January 31 when Microsoft originally disclosed its offer to buy the Internet services company. Yahoo all along maintained the offer was too low and that the company was worth more. Microsoft upped the bid to $33 per share during negotiations. Reports indicate Yahoo might have been willing to settle for $37 per share, a price Microsoft's CEO, Steve Ballmer, found unacceptable, especially in light of recent moves by Yahoo including a deal it struck with Google for outsourcing advertising. Apparently that type of 'poison pill' defense worked as Ballmer found that arrangement unpalatable. Some analysts are predictable a rash of shareholder lawsuits against Yahoo to start cropping up today.